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Major disruption over a limited period

It's been confirmed this morning that a 40 mile stretch WILL close for four months next summer, then for another four months in 2004 and that's for upgrading to the West Coast line.

The thinking behind this is that it's better to cause major disruption over a limited period rather than intermittent closures over a longer period of time.

It's unclear what passengers will do, there are other routes but these are smaller lines carrying local traffic - everything would move very slowly.

It could mean people will be put on to buses - the big companies like Virgin will fear that some of their customers will think there is no point persevering and find other means of getting around.

The Times Newspaper said the programme would see the line closed for 17 weeks from Colwich in Staffordshire to Cheadle Hulme, just south of Stockport, next summer.

This will be followed by a second 17-week closure early in 2004, from Crewe to Cheadle Hulme.

This will force hundreds of thousands of passengers to take long diversions or switch to buses.

'�4bn saved'

The closure is aimed at speeding up the upgrade which should allow Virgin's tilting trains to run on the line at speeds of up to 125mph by the end of 2004.

The cost of the modernisation of the main route between London and Glasgow has become enormous - and it is way behind schedule.

West Cost main line upgrade

Originally estimated at �2.1bn Costs have reached �10-13bn Closures could save �4bn

The line is already being closed every weekend for 18 weeks for a 25-mile stretch between Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead.

The cost of the project is now put at up to �13 billion, compared with Railtrack's original estimate four years ago of �2.1 billion.

A second phase intended to deliver trains running at 140mph has been shelved indefinitely.

Richard Bowker, the SRA chairman, has decided passengers will be better served in the long term by a limited period of major disruption, rather than spreading the impact over several years, according to the Times.

The SRA believes the line closures will cut about �4 billion from the final bill, bringing the total budget "south of �10 billion," the newspaper reported.

Practice service

Taxpayers are expected to have to pick up much of the bill for Railtrack's failure to keep control of the project.

The huge cost over-runs were one of the main reasons for the government forcing the company into administration last October.

Since then, the SRA has also been forced to pay Virgin more than �100m from the public purse, to compensate for the delayed introduction of its new high-speed tilting trains.

Virgin says it will begin phasing its �1 billion fleet of 53 new Pendolino trains into passenger service from the end of this year.

The company says they will probably run between London and Manchester at first, building up to a full, tilting service between London and Glasgow by 2004.